Field of the Invention
Conventional seat belts which are permanently anchored to the structure of the vehicle are standard requirements under the law in the United States. Such standard anchorages insure proper and effective occupant restraint and are so designed to reduce, if not eliminate, likelihood of their failure. This standard belt and anchorage is applicable, in the United States, to passenger cars, multi-purpose passenger vehicles, trucks and buses. Such seat belt anchorages are installed for each forward-facing passenger. Except for sidefacing seats, seat belt anchorages are generally required to withstand as much as five thousand (5,000) pounds force, in the pelvic area, when tested. Naturally of course the belt, and buckle portion, must be of concomitant strength. Reference may be made Title 49, U.S.C. .sctn.571 et al. for a description of the criterion for acceptable belt structure.
Despite the existence of stringent federal regulations proscribing specific requirements for the installation and strength characteristics of seat belts there exists a variety of disadvantages and personal discomforts in the operational use of these devices. Such disadvantages and uncomfortable characteristics are endured by users because of the offsetting safety advantages that are clearly present when the belts are worn.
A principle characteristic of prior art belts contributing to their general discomfort is an inability by the user to move from any position other than upright. In some instances of the prior art, there is an ability by the wearer to move vertically within the belt, such as for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,321,247. An ability to move in lateral fashion exists in U.S. Pat. No. 1,712,198 but such design is incapable of compliance with present day federal requirements. Moreover, such device is clearly incapable of protecting a passenger in a head on collision. Other such devices as are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,888,063 disclose seat belt, or the like, attachments, adapted to facilitate movement of the wearer thereof but which are either so structurally inferior as to preclude compliance with federal safety belt requirements and/or which do not enable free lateral movement of the wearer without distortion of the seat belt itself from its normal operational condition.